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BUDGET DROPS TODAY: President Barack Obama’s belated budget is out today — and for transportation watchers it’s going to all look a bit familiar. In his State of the Union as well as a PortMiami event a couple weeks ago, the president has already dribbled out most of his infrastructure proposals so you should be pretty comfortable with the material. According to administration background info let loose this morning, the president is calling for $50 billion upfront: $40 billion for a “fix-it-first” program and $10 billion “for competitive programs to encourage innovation in completing high value infrastructure projects.” He’s also looking for a national infrastructure bank, $4 billion in TIFIA and TIGER expansions and a $7 billion America Fast Forward program. The president will also call for money dedicated to high-speed rail and NextGen, as well as a big increase in annual federal transportation spending and halving big infrastructure project delivery timelines.

That’s all good but: What we’re really waiting for today in the actual budget is an explanation of how the administration hopes to pay for its transport proposals. For those of us who’ve been tracking these things for years — MT is guilty — it might be yet another case of “deja vu all over again.” The president has proposed some form of an infrastructure bank and has made several pleas for another up-front transportation investment over the past few years using the “peace dividend” as funding, but little traction has been made on the Hill. And with the big highway and transit bill up next year, any such proposals will likely have to wait to hitch a ride on that must-pass bill.

ROCKY ROAD: Senate Commerce gathers for a hearing on the Panama Canal and Chairman Jay Rockefeller is expected to “call for a strategic, long-term vision about how we will use transportation system in the next century,” a source in the know tells MT.

WRDAS WITH FRIENDS: CBO has a new score on the Senate water legislation, finding it sets up $12.5 billion in spending over the next ten years that needs $135 million in offsets. Barbara Boxer had predicted that her and David Vitter’s bill would come in far below the last WRDA legislation, filled with earmarks, and she was right. The 2007 bill was scored at $11.2 billion over five years and $23.2 billion over 10. About $3.4 billion of the bill’s spending outlays over the first five years of its life would be dedicated to water resource projects, nearly 60 percent of the bill’s total through 2018. One of WRDA’s key provisions is advancing projects that are in the federal interest, and the CBO says the Army Corps of Engineers has identified 27 of them, four of which would receive the lion’s share of funding. Burgess takes you there: http://politico.pro/10QEJb1

INHOFE <3s EARMARKS: Sen. Jim Inhofe will be “active” and “participate” when the WRDA bill hits the Senate floor, even though he wasn’t a part of the meetings that helped shape the legislation, he told MT on Tuesday. Inhofe, who said his role as the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee meant he couldn’t attend the WRDA meetings, plans to offer amendments, but wouldn’t discuss what exactly he’s mulling. But one key area of concern for the Oklahoman is the bill’s system of authorizing funds for projects after they receive a series of approvals from the Army Corps of Engineers — a creative congressional solution to the earmark ban. “In fact, Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution says that we’re supposed to be doing that stuff,” Inhofe said of earmarks. Asked about the WRDA bill, he replied: “It’s all right, they’re doing the best they can on the current bill, but I just think a more straightforward approach would be one that is more in keeping with the Constitution.”

NIGHT MOVES: The sequester’s pain might benefit from a sunshine policy for air travelers, because the worst of it could come during the dead of night. Aviation analytics firm Marks System says planned reductions in overtime for TSA personnel could mean “significant wait times overnight and closures of checkpoints,” particularly for cargo operations. Marks’s data shows 26,000 passenger flights and 12,000 cargo flights depart airports nationwide between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. each quarter, so cuts to TSA overtime could mean “widespread impacts” to cargo, as well as late-night and early morning passenger departures. Kathryn turns the light on for Pros: http://politico.pro/Z5Wu7r

Mini-mailbag: T&I member Dan Lipinski wrote FAA Administrator Michael Huerta to say he has been stymied in trying to get more information about the Chicago Midway’s potential overnight tower closure, citing how busy the Second City’s Second Airport is and the disruption such a shutdown might cause. The overnight tower shutterings are a separate animal from the now-delayed contract tower process — and there hasn’t been any news on this horizon since the list of those facilities went out on Feb. 22. http://politico.pro/XqE5Sh

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DEMS SHARPENING THEIR ATTACKS ON TSA KNIVE POLICY: The House Homeland Security Committee’s top Democrats are pressing the TSA for more information about its new policy to soon allow small knives on airplanes. In a letter (http://1.usa.gov/12Eac52) to TSA Administrator John Pistole, the Democrats say that the agency’s response to an earlier letter (http://1.usa.gov/103hSbj) was not sufficient and did not address some key areas.

SHIPPING NEWS: DOT will give out nearly $10 million in grants to small shipyards, the agency says in a notice appearing in today’s Federal Register. DOT anticipates giving 10 grants of about $1 million each. Applications are due by May 28 and the awards should be announced by July 24. Fed Reg entry: http://bit.ly/ZL90Fs

SURVEY SAYS: TRAVELERS LOVE CUSTOMS! Most travelers who passed through busy airports’ Customs checkpoints last summer had a positive experience, according to a new survey from Customs and Border Protection. About 84 percent of travelers said the entry process made them feel “welcome” in the U.S., and about two-thirds said the entry process made them more likely to return to the United States and travel internationally. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed said they had a more positive impression of the U.S. after the experience. The CBP survey of more than 25,000 passengers last July and August at the 20 busiest international airports is a stark contrast to numbers from the U.S. Travel Association released in March that showed the entry process is in some ways a deterrent to international travel. The CBP survey: http://1.usa.gov/14Vj0DV And the USTA survey: http://politico.pro/10RixvB

MT POLL — Heavy trucks: MT has been all over the truck weight battle on the Hill and even for a House district in Missouri-- but we’ve neglected to ask what you think, dear readers. Do you want heavier trucks on the roads? Vote before Sunday at noon: http://bit.ly/12phycs

THE COUNTDOWN: Sequestration has been in effect for 41 days and it’s been 71 days since LaHood announced his departure. DOT funding and passenger rail policy both run out in 174 days. Surface transportation policy is up in 542 days and FAA policy in 904 days. The mid-term elections are in 573 days.

CABOOSE — 1983 Metro map: The Cloture Club brings us a picture of a 1983 Metro map that’s hanging on the wall at Rocklands BBQ in Arlington. There’s some striking differences from the map we know and love now, including directional Orange and Blue Line arrows and the outline of a yet-to-be-opened Green Line. Give it a look: http://bit.ly/XqBQhS

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